TURA: Late-night vandalism of a church door, loss of lives due to rash driving and assault on Christmas night dampened the spirit in Garo Hills.
An inebriated youth was caught on CCTV cameras vandalising the outer glass door of the Hawakhana Baptist Church around 2.30 am on Christmas day.
The unidentified youth, who was carrying a backpack, was seen kicking the door in a fit of drunken stupor and later throwing a flower pot to break the glass before another youth forcibly took him away.
“We are investigating the case and from the CCTV footage it appears that the youth was drunk after a night of revelry. We are acquiring further footages for investigation and appropriate action will be taken,” said West Garo Hills SP MGR Kumar while ruling out any communal involvement.
Church authorities also indicated that there was no ulterior motive behind the incident.
Three revellers died in Garo Hills in separate accidents. A speeding Alto car, with four young occupants, heading out of Tura town on Christmas around 7-8 am, dashed against the wall of the Ganol dairy farm near Goeragre, 10 km from Tura, leading to the death of 24-year-old Whiety Sangma on the passengers’ seat. The driver and two other occupants were grievously injured and were admitted in Tura Civil Hospital.
The deceased hailed from Gandrak area of Tura’s Chitok locality, police said.
In another case of rash driving, a 16-year-old boy who was dancing with a group of revellers on the Simsang bridge in Baghmara town on Christmas Eve was hit by a passing SUV belonging to a businessman from the town. The youth, identified as James M Sangma of Chitmang Gonggrot village, died in a hospital and the driver was arrested on the same night.
On Tuesday afternoon, a day after Christmas, a 16-year-old girl who was accompanying her aunt in a public bus from Rongjeng town and heading towards Jadi village of Nangalbibra in South Garo Hills, fell from the running vehicle and was crushed to death under the wheels at Dobu Rongmu near Nengkra.
The deceased, Sengbera G Momin of Dimit village on the West Khasi Hills border, was coming to celebrate New Year at her aunt’s place.
According to Williamnagar police, the young girl was feeling sick and wanted to throw up and went towards the door when she accidently fell off.
Reports of street brawls and assaults during Christmas celebrations were also reported from different place of Garo Hills.
At Ringrey market in Tura, a senior citizen who tried to contain a commotion was allegedly assaulted by a drunken youth. In Williamnagar town, one person was injured in a fight that broke out among late-night revellers outside a park near the DC office complex.
In Tura’s Kabul market area, a fire broke out on Christmas night destroying four shops. The fire broke out around 10 pm and could be contained only after an hour.
It is suspected that someone may have thrown a fire cracker or lit a cigarette leading to the fire since none of the shops had electricity.
